The Woodlands Fire Department adds bikes to its brigade

TARA MULLEE

Published 7:00 pm, Tuesday, May 25, 2004

Several years ago a man suffered a heart attack at the Shell Houston Open golf tournament in The Woodlands. The incident stuck out in the mind of The Woodlands Fire Department driver/operator John Fuller, because he appreciated the quick response time the Cypress Creek EMS was able to provide in the emergency situation. They used bicycles to reach the victim, and were able to render aid quickly.

That gave Fuller the idea to form a bike medic team in The Woodlands.

"I knew about medic bike teams before, but that was just the first time that I realized that maybe we should be having our own, since we've been hosting the golf tournament for so many years," Fuller said. "If we had been in place, it could have been our bike team that responded."

Fuller started to asking why his fire department did not have a bike team for large, public events, such as golf tournaments and festivals.

"We were a smaller department then," Fuller said. "We didn't have as many people as we do now. Kicking around the idea, we kind of felt like it wouldn't be accepted by the administration at the time, because it was kind of a new idea to fire departments."

As time passed, however, the fire department noticed the success of other bike teams, including one used by the Montgomery County Hospital District at the golf tournaments, Fuller said.

He began researching bike medic teams on the Internet and found that many fire departments use them for events, public relations, bike safety, fire responses and, in some cases, to search for lost or hurt people on trails and in rugged terrain.

In 2003, Fuller proposed the formation of a bike team to Fire Chief John Mullin, and explained that the department was large enough to easily form the team. Mullin accepted the proposal, and it was subsequently approved by the fire department's board of directors to be a part of the 2004 budget.

Fuller said he hopes the size of the team will increase when, and if, it gains more equipment than the two bikes it has now.

"I'm hoping that as we do more functions, and the public sees us a little bit more, the department will either increase the budget or people may donate equipment to the team," Fuller said.

The bike team has already received some assistance from the community. A bicycle shop in The Woodlands sold the department equipment at discounted prices, and last week, students from The John Cooper School donated $350 that they raised through bake sales and pizza sales. The money will go toward the team members' uniforms.

The students who raised the money are in a club called Citizens' Appreciation for Public Servicemen, or CAPS. After a four-year hiatus, CAPS was resurrected this year at John Cooper.

"We were thinking about 9/11 and all the stuff that had happened, and we just thought it was a good club to bring back," said Rachel Coolidge, 16, who is co-president of CAPS.

Ellie Wilson, 16, is also co-president. Both girls are juniors. CAPS has about 15 members, Coolidge said.

"On the weekends, about once a month, we bring the firemen breakfast in the morning," she said. "Around 7 o'clock we bring them doughnuts and stuff. Next year we're planning on getting a policeman to come in and talk about drinking and driving."

CAPS chose to help fund the bike medic team because the club wanted to raise money for a cause that would benefit community as well as the fire department, Coolidge said.

"We thought that would be a good fit for our money," she said.

Fuller believes the bike team will be a good fit for the community, too. When large, public events are held in The Woodlands, he said the team will be there among the people instead of having the fire truck on standby, which will keep the large vehicle from having to be in a crowded area. Also, since the fire truck will stay at the station, it will be free to respond to emergency calls, rather than being tied up at the public event.

The Waterway project under construction in Town Center is one place where large groups of people will likely congregate, and Fuller said the project is one of the main reasons they formed the team.

"Once (the Waterway) gets going, mobility is going to be an issue down there," he said. "And if, on the weekend, they have a big function or a festival (or) some kind of program going on down there, we can have a bike team down there, and that way we don't have to tie up the fire truck with having to park in the street."

The first event in which Fuller hopes to use the bike team is at the annual July 4 Red, Hot & Blue Festival. But, he also anticipates the team working at Lighting of the Doves, concerts in the parks, events around the Pavilion and major openings in The Woodlands, such as Market Street. The bike team could also be used to help with bike safety and registration in the community.

"Whatever we're needed for," Fuller said. "If we get a missing person in The Woodlands and they say, 'Can we get the bike team out there?' we'll do it, whatever they need us for. Now that we have the resources and the capabilities to do it, we're here."

The medics riding bicycles will be able to perform the same medical services as those riding in fire trucks, Fuller said.

"Here in the fire department they are all EMT trained," he said. "They're either EMT basics, intermediates, paramedics or licensed paramedics. That's the same training the guys on the ambulance have. So we'll be able to do anything that we can currently do now in The Woodlands. We just won't be able to transport (patients), obviously, to the hospital. But we plan on carrying some of the same medications the ambulance carries. No care different than what the fire truck can give you, actually, that's what our goal is."

The team members will train regularly and attend classes for specific certifications, Fuller said. Initially, they will have the basic skills needed to safely ride the bikes and operate them in crowds. When they have the necessary funding, they will earn the internationally recognized International Police Mountain Bike Patrol Medic certification. Throughout the year, they will participate in training exercises, rides and drills.

The team has two Trek 6700 mountain bikes with lighting for nighttime riding, racks, and bags to carry equipment, helmets and hands-free headsets for the radios they'll use while riding.

To donate equipment or funds to help the fire department expand its bike team, call Angela McNair, administrative assistant to the fire chief, at (281) 367-3444.